Liverpool stalwart admits he was close to tears after the energy-sapping,
dramatic Wembley victory over Mereseyside neighbours Everton.

It is turning into a terribly good ‘dissatisfying’ season for Liverpool. Despair in the league, euphoria in the cups.

The last 22 years without a Premier League title, in which nine major trophies have still been won, encapsulated by a contradictory 12 months where historic success is still attainable.

For Jamie Carragher, relieved, tired, and as emotional as he’s ever been after any game, the semi-final victory over Everton was a demonstration of the superior DNA of Liverpool Football Club - a genetically enhanced ability to win when it really matters.

Carragher sunk to his knees at full-time and momentarily wondered around haphazardly, alone on the Wembley pitch, head in hands as if he’d just narrowly escaped the scene of an accident.

He doubted if he’d ever have recovered if such a monumental fixture had been defined by his first-half mistake.

Liverpool win these kinds of games, he said, not necessarily because of their greater talent but because as a club they refuse to buckle.

When they’re looking into the abyss, they somehow manage to drag themselves away.

“It’s something in our DNA,” he said. “Liverpool seem to have that. I can always remember it, even as a kid, and I said to Stevie (Gerrard) after the game how often have we done that?

"It’s not going our way and we find a way to keep going and win.

"I don’t know how we do it, but Liverpool have always done it in the past and I hope our teams continue to do it in the future.

"We put our supporters through it like every big game but there is something from within which not all clubs have got. Manchester United have got it too.

"Finding a way to win at big moments. I can’t put my finger on what it is, but I’m delighted we’ve got it.

“Because we’re not as good as the teams at the top of the league we can’t do it every week in the Premier League, but with one-off games it’s different.

"I don’t think we won the semi-final because of our great ability or great players, it’s a character thing.

"The teams at the top are the best teams but in one off games we have something inside us.

"I don’t think anyone could have that on a weekly basis but you can at certain moments.

"I’m not just talking about this team, but just Liverpool as a club.

"Getting late goals, coming back in games.

"It’s a special thing for a club to have and I think we have it.”

Carragher’s anxious clearance after a mix-up with Daniel Agger had gifted Everton the lead.

He knew the reaction in store had Nikica Jelavic’s opportunist opener been the winner.

“I was close to tears at the final whistle, to be honest,” he said.

“If we’d lost that game I don’t know if I’d have ever recovered.

"As an Everton fan as a kid, this was the biggest derby I’ve ever played so I’m delighted the lads have done it and helped me out.

"It’s one of the biggest games I’ve played in, right up there with the Champions League final.

"I thought of the stick me and Stevie would have got on the streets of Liverpool if we’d lost that game.

“The biggest emotion is relief. There was a lot of apprehension before the game.

"We had the TV on, listening to different things, and seeing all the supporters at Lime Street Station.

"The Everton fans sounded very confident.

"It was one of those games where a lot of people expected us to lose, or certainly didn’t want us to win.

“It was huge. We’ve played in big finals in Champions League and FA Cup, but this was right up there because of who we were playing and because it was at Wembley it felt more like a final.

"You don’t say that before the game because you don’t want to set yourself up before a fall, but we were well aware how bad it would be if we’d lost.”

Football’s fickle hand guides careers down a different path after such victories.

Kenny Dalglish, so vulnerable before kick off, will feel more secure with the immediate prospect of an FA Cup final.

His second reign was given the shock treatment beforehand, but now has the chance to re-energise itself.

Carragher said Liverpool’s current league standing is not just down to Dalglish, but successive managers’ underperformance as there was much to rebuild after the mistakes of both Rafa Benítez and Roy Hodgson.

“The last couple of years we’d finished seventh which is not good enough but that wasn’t this manager’s fault,” he said.

“We were in that position for the two years with other managers in charge.

"We have a trophy and another chance now.

"However the game went he deserved a bit of slack, and even more so now.

"After what’s happened off the pitch last week, we know what the reaction would have been had we lost, especially with the manager.

"Hhe’s the one who has taken all the criticism this year so I’m delighted for him.”